taint

[teynt]

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noun

a trace of something bad, offensive, or harmful.

a trace of infection, contamination, or the like.

a trace of dishonor or discredit.

Obsolete. color; tint.

verb (used with object)

to modify by or as if by a trace of something offensive or deleterious.

to infect, contaminate, corrupt, or spoil.

to sully or tarnish (a person's name, reputation, etc.).

Obsolete. to color or tint.

verb (used without object)

to become tainted; spoil.

Origin of taint

1325–75; conflation of Middle English taynt, aphetic variant of attaint struck, attainted, past participle of attainten to attaint; late Middle English taynt hue, tint < Anglo-French teint (< Latin tinctus, equivalent to ting(ere) to dye, tinge + -tus suffix of v. action); and teinte < Late Latin tincta inked stroke, noun use of feminine of past participle of tingere

Related formsun·taint·ed, adjectiveun·taint·ing, adjective

Synonyms for taint

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR taint ON THESAURUS.COM

1. defect, spot, flaw, fault. 1, 7. blemish, stain. 6. defile, pollute, poison.

taint

or t'aint

noun Slang: Vulgar.

the area between the testicles or vulva and the anus; the perineum.

Origin of taint

it ain’t (the one or the other), meaning it is the area in between

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for taint

stigma, blemish, sully, harm, pollute, tarnish, infect, muddy, damage, poison, hurt, blight, discredit, spoil, smear, corrupt, stain, cloud, besmirch, tar

Examples from the Web for taint

Contemporary Examples of taint

In losing, however, he will taint his possible rivals—including Rand Paul—as pitiful members of the "surrender caucus."
Can Ted Cruz Win by Losing?
David Frum
September 24, 2013
Once successfully in, I can see my Hash 160 and Taint Analysis, among other things.
My Bitcoin (Mis)adventure
Winston Ross
April 4, 2013
Random spot checks, so that getting checked carries no taint.
Searching for Fraud
Megan McArdle
October 9, 2012
“Some people worry about the taint of association,” Bradley said.
The Professor of Hip-Hop: Adam Bradley’s Poetic Mission
Nick Romeo
September 17, 2012
Nixon carried the taint of a perpetual candidate who had lost high-profile races.
Romney’s Nixon Problem
Michael Medved
October 18, 2011

Historical Examples of taint

This is now a tainted place, and I well know the taint of it clings to me.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
I will not hear it from your lips, and with the taint of your wickedness upon it.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
His temper was of the saturnine complexion, and without the least taint of moroseness.
Joseph Andrews Vol. 1
Henry Fielding
The air did not seem lovely to him, for he was positive that he detected the taint.
Alice Adams
Booth Tarkington
No taint of vice or dissipation had ever sullied the brightness of his pleasant life.
Henry Dunbar
M. E. Braddon

British Dictionary definitions for taint

taint

verb

to affect or be affected by pollution or contaminationoil has tainted the water

to tarnish (someone's reputation, etc)

noun

a defect or flawa taint on someone's reputation

a trace of contamination or infection

Derived Formstaintless, adjective

Word Origin for taint

C14: (influenced by attaint infected, from attain) from Old French teindre to dye, from Latin tingere to dye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for taint

1570s, "to corrupt, contaminate," also "to touch, tinge, imbue slightly" (1590s), from Middle English teynten "to convict, prove guilty" (late 14c.), partly from Old French ataint, past participle of ataindre "to touch upon, seize" (see attainder). Also from Anglo-French teinter "to color, dye" (early 15c.), from Old French teint (12c.), past participle of teindre "to dye, color," from Latin tingere (see tincture). Related: Tainted; tainting.